Posts Tagged ‘Thelma Steward’

The holiday season was off to a sluggish start. It’s Christmas, it’s joy, it’s happiness and good luck. Unfortunately, at the foot of Mullanphy Street, the homeless still hover over small fires in an area called “Hopeville.” The Martin Luther King and Eads Bridges have lost those lights that were gifted to the city years ago by the Veiled Prophet Order. The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville has transformed once again into a magnificent shower of Christmas lighting.

Don and Joan Davis

There’s one glitch this year – an intrusion of a full-color, electric sign that promotes FOX2 near the grotto. Then, we drove to Fairview Heights, where another blazing sign beckoned all to the new Agostino’s. It figures that a fancy town like Fairview Heights would have an upscale Italian restaurant. After ordering dinner, Todd, the server, rushed into the kitchen and reappeared with a massive bowl of cioppino worthy of the 14th century’s Huou, chef of the court of Kublai Khan. There was adulation in the air over chef Rosa Gabriele’s
miraculous preparation of Sicilian delicacies and daughter-in-law/pastry chef Francesca’smemorable delights with each dish rising to new heights.

David and Thelma Steward

Soaring with a burst of floratory, her sons Paul and John traced the 44-year history of Agostino’s that began on The Hill. Onward to Tony’s to help celebrate the birthday parties of Thelma Steward with her hub, David of World Wide Technology, and in another party room, Joan Davis with her hub, Don, who’s hit the ball out of the park with Purus boutique vodka, that has caught on like wildfire in about a dozen states. Next for the Davis’ Pure Holdings LLC is Pomacai, a pomegranate and acai berry-flavored vodka.

A seemingly endless summer outdoors and women with an incredible sense of fashion spilled indoors at Marriott’s Ritz Carlton Hotel, where the Jewish Federation gala, “Visionaries 2010″, was held. Past the lobby lounge, which each morning is frequented by guests with heroic hangovers and prodigious deeds printed by fuzz-cheeked reporters and into the ballroom. Jam-packed with 700 supporters of the Federation, Mo. Gov. Jay Nixon was in the political spotlight praising Israel, where he and wife, Georganne, Tom Green and Mike Staenberg visited a few years ago. He said, “It’s a nation steeped in the past – but always looking to the future. A nation where King David’s tomb and the Einstein Institute of Mathematics co-exist – in real time. . . That duality – of past and future, of loss and hope, of sacrifice and generosity, of individual and community – is what we are here to celebrate.” Nixon continued to praise “the philanthropic vision of tonight’s honorees – Tom and Karole Green, Ken and Nancy Kranzberg and Michael and Carol Staenberg – a model of enlightened leadership not just for the city and our state, but for our nation and the world.” Major supporters of the Federation on hand included leading African-American dynamos Thelma and David Steward, topper of Worldwide Technology, Inc., who claim their lives have been centered on living in the Jewish community. The columnist observed Cong. Russ Carnahan, after he took a bow before the program began and then hastily exited the hotel. Co-chairs were vampy Kim and Bill Miller whose sacred commitment to the Federation were lauded by guests Contemporary Productions’ Steve Schankman introduced to friends his new, stunning friend, Katie Ryan. (Schankman and his wife,

Katie Ryan, Bill and Kim Miller

Andria, are awaiting final divorce papers.) Rabbi Howard Kaplansky, esteemed spiritual leader of United Hebrew Temple, gave the columnist his take on Jewish Catholics. “There’s nothing Jewish about it,” he said. “If they accept Jesus, they’re not Jews – they’re Christians.” Kaplansky said he will officially retire from the pulpit on June 30. With the rabbi was his wife, Susan, director of adult services at the JCA. Glamorous Kathryn Green Weber flew in from her home in L.A. to be with her much-admired parents. Famed WashU cardiologist and prof Dr. Alan Weiss and his wife, Marcia, Randee and Dr. Myron Jacobs, Jan and Ron Greenberg, Colleen and Bob Millstone, Wilma and Harvey Gerstein, Diane and Paul Gallant, Phyllis and Sanford Goffstein, Diane and Dr. David Katzman and a bevy of members of the Sansone family were spotted around the room. On the sidelines, Gov. Nixon’s communications chief and cool mom Christine Bertelson proudly pointed out, that her daughters: Rosie is a college student; Meredith is practicing law.

Well, how DO you convince people that the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is our most precious heritage? If you don’t consider it precious, just think, to make the most obvious comment possible, what Kansas City would give to have it. In exchange, KC might offer natives Ed Asner, Dr. Phil McGraw, Sen. Nancy Kassebaum and Swope Park, Crown Center, Hallmark Cards and throw in Arthur Bryant‘s Barbecue. (It’s hard to think of rejecting the latter.) But, that’s not the item. SLSO’s pufflicist Adam Crane has touted the recently appointed members of the Board of Trustees: Joyce Cacho; Walter Hawkins; Peter Miller and Thelma Steward. That raises a question: why are they appointed? Based on musical background, fundraising, social status or having been investigated and cleared by a congressional committee? Cacho is chief sustainability officer at Novus; Hawkins is senior veep of Peabody Energy; Miller is prez of the advisor development group at Wells Fargo and Steward is a registered nurse.

“Emerson stock has had a good run and (each share) is $5 away from its all-time high,” enthused David Farr, ceo of Emerson and Variety Club’s “man of the year” at the 44th anniversary “Dinner with the Stars” at the Chase-Park Plaza on Saturday night. Farr, with his wife, Lelia, mentioned he teaches strategic planning and investments on a long time plan at WashU. “Chuck Knight also teaches a semester and he’s brought in such guest speakers as Louis Gerstner (former ceo of IBM) and Jack Welch (former ceo of General Electric),” said Farr. “We have about 150 students.” Thelma and David Steward, prez of Variety and chairman of World Wide Technology turned to business, when he said, “We’re taking advantage of the latest in Cloud computing (Internet-based computing of shared resources, software and information on demand).” Contemporary Productions founder Steve Schankman was on hand with Jake Gregory, 19, who, two years ago, fell off the edge of a rocky cliff in Augusta, Mo., and suffered severe head trauma and other injuries. Now, the glamorous Gregory is looking forward to head for studies in Christian ministry at Lindenwood. The evening’s emcee Bob Eubanks, a veteran of 32 years of television game shows, said he keynotes nowadays for “coporate America.” “The subject is ‘All About America,’” said a surly Eubanks. Marilyn Fox, chairman of the dinner, sauntered in the room with her husband and staunch GOP’er Sam, who insisted, “Crazy people are now running the country!”

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